This invention combines the function of a vehicle active noise cancellation system with the horn.
Vehicles are typically provided with a separate horn which is selectively actuated by an operator to emit an audio signal. Typically, an audio component is incorporated into or near the steering wheel of the vehicle. An operator actuated switch causes this component to emit a sound.
Recently, modern vehicles have been provided with active noise cancellation systems. An active noise cancellation system attempts to cancel out the engine noise resulting in a quieter overall ride. Thus, the systems are typically provided with a speaker, and a sensor for sensing the vehicle noise. A control determines an appropriate tone to cancel the sensed noise. The speaker is driven to emit a noise to cancel the engine noise.
Active noise cancellation systems are already provided with a complicated computer system, and they do not necessarily perform all of the functions that they could provide.
It is the goal of the present invention to combine the function of the horn with the active noise cancellation system.